Rafael Nadal won his ninth French Open Sunday, and he did it in the most unbecoming way possible. The decisive moment was a double fault from Novak Djokovic, provoking an awkward "fall to your knees in euphoria after winning a point literally anyone with a pulse could have won themselves" celebration. »6/09/14 1:51pm 6/09/14 1:51pm

Rafael Nadal hadn't dropped a set to Stanislas Wawrinka before today's Australian Open final. Wawrinka promptly changed that by winning the first set, eventually taking the match in four sets, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. But Wawrinka didn't come out on top only because of Nadal's injury. The Swiss was in charge the entire… »1/26/14 10:25am 1/26/14 10:25am

Maybe every Federer-Nadal is a Federer-Nadal for the ages, and when we look back we'll marvel at our luck that these two comets coincided for a decade. But let's say with a bit of boldness that the upcoming Federer-Nadal — in a date punched when they respectively dispatched Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov in the… »1/22/14 8:47pm 1/22/14 8:47pm

Nadal's in London playing in the ATP World Tour Finals, where this multiple-exposure picture was taken. We now can see the shift from "okay, toss it up gently" to "NOW MURDER THAT THING!" moment to moment. Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images»11/06/13 4:29pm 11/06/13 4:29pm

Last year's final had a 54-shot rally too. This one's better. It energized the wildest U.S. Open men's final crowd Arthur Ashe has hosted in some time, and gave Djokovic his first break of the match. He'd take the second set 6-3, and he's currently up a break in the third in what's shaping up to be a truly fantastic… »9/09/13 7:16pm 9/09/13 7:16pm

This entire point, from early on in Nadal's clinical straight-sets administration of American Ryan Harrison, is lovely. But do watch the slow-motion spin of Rafa's overhead finisher, from somewhere out in College Point. Physics is fun.»8/27/13 9:36am 8/27/13 9:36am

Something called Sergiy Stakhovsky just defeated Roger Federer in four sets at Wimbledon, which is less a tournament at this point than it is one of those Agatha Christie books where bodies keep piling up around some quaint English vicarage. Where do we start? Rafael Nadal got knocked out Monday. Maria Sharapova lost… »6/26/13 3:44pm 6/26/13 3:44pm

The best pre-Wimbledon storyline not involving the Serena-Sharapova "black heart" spat was the totally tantalizing quarterfinal: Federer vs. Rafa. They've met only twice in a Grand Slam in the last four years, and they haven't played each other at Wimbledon since the '08 classic. Finally, the thinking went, we'd get… »6/24/13 1:26pm 6/24/13 1:26pm

There was never any doubt. Third-seeded Rafa Nadal just bested fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to win the French Open title. It was Nadal's eighth French Open win—a record—and the 27-year-old now has 12 Grand Slams. Ferrer, seeded fourth, did well to make it to the final, but as Nadal… »6/09/13 12:12pm 6/09/13 12:12pm

Well, tomorrow is the big day! Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal. The semifinal that's effectively the French Final. The 7-time French champion versus the guy who has won every Grand Slam except this one. Tennis's most exciting rivalry. It has everything, except now you will miss most or all of it. »6/06/13 11:47am 6/06/13 11:47am

Rafael Nadal announced this morning that he's pulling out of the U.S. Open, which begins in less than two weeks. What for? An "injury." No one knows what. When Nadal pulled out of the Olympics—he hasn't played a match since he was bounced in the second round of Wimbledon—it was a little unclear what the problem was.… »8/15/12 1:15pm 8/15/12 1:15pm